An Unlikely Bounty
by creativeone298
Summary: Ventress wanted to pawn Captain Rex back to the Republic at a high price, but when she needs help to secure a bounty, there's only one other set of guns available.


Rex groaned and rubbed the back of his head. His surroundings were dark, but there appeared to be a person trying to wake him up.

"Who are you?" he slurred, trying to get his eyes to focus.

"Oh, you're finally awake. Come on, you're coming with me." the woman said, roughly pulling him onto his feet. Rex swayed a bit, but managed to stay up.

"And why, exactly, do I have to do that?" he asked, pulling against her.

"Oh, come on. Master Koon came after his Commander. I have reason to believe that Skywalker will come after you, and maybe provide a nice bounty in the process." she said, her voice sweetening toward the end.

Rex's eyes snapped open as he realized just who had a death grip on his wrist. He attempted to pull away, but in his drowsy and uncoordinated state, his efforts were futile. "Do you really think General Skywalker will negotiate with bounty hunters?" he spat, continuing to struggle as best he could. If Ventress had to take him by force, he would provide every difficulty he could.'

"Should I just leave you here then? The Republic thinks you're MIA or dead. The battle droids would have an easy time shooting a stationary clone." she threatened.

Rex glared at her then sighed. He stopped struggling and Ventress smirked at him. "Good boy."

"I am not a dog." Rex said.

"I know, but you'd still look good on a leash." Ventress said casually.

Rex whitened, reddened, and then shook his head. "No."

Ventress guided him toward one of the rooms of the ship and locked him in. Rex sighed, slumped in defeat, and wondered just how he was going to get out of this one. The ventilation shafts were all bolted tightly (after all, he knew that Ventress used that trick just as much as General Skywalker did), and the door, after giving it a few weak shoves, did not look like it would easily cave in. He decided to sleep it off, figuring that she wouldn't kill him if she needed the money that badly. He lied down on the floor and tried to make himself comfortable, but a little voice in the back of his head asked him if he thought that General Skywalker would come to save him at all. Why not just replace him with one of the good ARC Troopers? Appo was becoming a Commander, right? Why would General Skywalker need a mediocre Captain like him, so easily captured? After all, he wasn't the one to propose any of the ridiculous plans on Umbara, that was all Fives. He didn't even have the courage to pull the trigger on Krell. When Commander Tano had been accused of terrorism, he didn't rebel against the system for his best friend; he may have lied, but he never went searching for the truth. He wasn't daring or brash or brave; Skywalker was probably glad he was gone. Rex tossed and turned as thoughts of inadequacy rushed through his head. He fell in and out of restless sleep, wrought with nightmares.

Finally, Ventress landed and Rex woke up, hoping to be let out. He groaned in disappointment as he heard the outer door open and shut. He waited for what seemed to be half an hour when she came back in. He heard her echo his earlier groan and wondered what could be troubling her.

"I can't believe...I'd need two but I've only got myself…" he could hear her muttering through the door.

"Kriff my luck!" she eventually yelled. "If I could just have a team of bounty hunters, this bounty would be a cinch, but no, the good ones are all off in the inner core on another mission."

Rex saw his shot. It was a reaching, desperate shot, but he knew he had to take it.

"Did you say you needed an extra set of guns?" he asked through the door, almost cheekily.

Ventress slowly turned toward where she was holding Rex and her eyes narrowed. She knew that she needed this opportunity, and she also knew that Rex was a damn good soldier; it was only by a stroke of luck that he'd been separated from Skywalker and attacked by a good amount of Commando Droids when she'd found him.

"What's the catch?" she asked, feeling like she'd know the answer.

"You return me to General Skywalker…" he thought for a moment and added, "alive, in one piece, and mentally sound."

Ventress rubbed her temple as she weighed her options. She could hold Rex for ransom and possibly get killed by Skywalker for her troubles, or she could go for the bounty with Rex at her side, and betray him. Probably the best option, but she from what she'd heard of the Captain, he wouldn't pull that on her; his words tended to be sincere, according to Ahsoka. She pressed the button to let Rex out and motioned to the cockpit.

"I'll tell you the plan; just let me go back for that bounty."

As Ventress walked out, Rex considered making a run for it. Then again, he needed her to escape, and as unfriendly as she was, she was more secure than a planet full of lowlifes.

It was another five minutes before she came back in and handed him his deecees.

"We've got a mission for some higher-ups in one of the gangs. His daughter went missing and it's our job to recover her. Are you in?"

Rex thought for a moment; he didn't want to serve the galaxy's finest scum, and that was also his ride home. Maybe saving a kid wouldn't be so bad, right?

"I'm in." he said, with resolution in his voice.

"Okay, so we're going to have to ride for a day, maybe take a break to get some food or something. I'm assuming you don't have your own money?"

"Only some republic credits." Rex said, shrugging and reddening. He didn't realize how uncomfortable he'd be about depending on her for food.

Ventress sighed. "Which aren't worth shit out here."

"I'll trade you my food's worth; I'm pretty sure you come to the inner core sometimes." Rex replied, hoping to make her less angry.

"Fair enough." she said, considerably calmer.

For a while, the two sat in an awkward silence, watching the black of space outside the window. Rex didn't mind; he wasn't much of a talker, and for once, Ventress decided to enjoy sitting in the quiet, even if it was a bit tense.

Eventually, Ventress got tired and knew she'd need her strength for later. She debated whether or not she could trust Rex to steer along the path that they needed to be on, but she felt her system shutting down. She could not save that girl like this.

"Rex."

He turned toward her and stretched. "Yes?"

"You know how to navigate a ship, being a Captain and all, right?"

"I do. Need me to take over?"

Ventress reluctantly nodded. "But if I find that you've steered us off course, I kill you. Understand?"

"Yes, I do."

Rex had found a way around this; he could just kill her and take the ship. However, she could be holding him for General Skywalker to find bruised and bloodied. She wasn't. Whether out of necessity for both of them (which it probably was), or some other reason he couldn't comprehend, he was alive, and about to help her collect on a bounty. He kept going on course.

After a few hours, he woke Ventress up when it showed that they were about three fourths of the way there.

"Do you still want to eat?" he asked.

Ventress yawned and scratched her head. "You get right to the point, don't you?"

Rex nodded.

"Shouldn't have asked. Anyway, I'll look up if there's anywhere decent around here. Keep driving until I tell you to."

Rex drove as Ventress scrolled and they eventually found a small diner. It was cozy, serving the local fare.

"It may taste strange, but don't make weird faces; I don't want us getting in any fights."

"I'm looking forward to trying it. Don't know if you know this, but clones don't really get food often, so I'll try anything."

Ventress raised her eyebrows. They'd never had to worry about food with the droids, but she guessed that clones had to eat something; they were human, after all.

"So, what do you eat anyway?"

"Ration bars; they taste like nothing, but they give us all our nutrients."

Ventress smacked her forehead. "So that's why you're all so skinny?"

Rex raised his hands. "Yeah, I guess. Never thought about it before."

The two got waved over to a crowded booth and Rex felt her leg bump up against his. It felt strange; he wasn't used to much contact, even through the armor. _The armor_.

Rex lowered his voice and leaned in. "Are people going to recognize my Republic armor here? I don't want to get us killed."

Ventress thought for a bit and looked around. "As long as neither Republic nor Confederacy has been here, you should be fine. If anything, they'll take you for a Mandalorian because they don't know any better, and that should make us safer."

He nodded, reassured, and sat up again, taking the menu. He settled on the least expensive option and when he asked Ventress, she told him the same thing. Neither objected.

When they got their food, Rex tried to hide his reaction (he'd had food a few times before this, but it still got him every time), but Ventress saw his eyes light up and gave him an honest smile.

"Of course it will taste good if you've only been eating flimsi for your whole life. Or it'll taste awful, but you probably have a high tolerance."

He cleaned out his bowl in under five minutes, and Ventress wasn't far behind him. Both took care of the necessities and hit the road again.

As they flew, Rex absentmindedly toyed with his blasters, making sure everything everything looked okay.

"They're fine, Rex, I didn't mess with them."

Rex sighed in relief, "Thanks; I care about these."

"I guess they are some of your only possessions. It's cute how you named them, the Vigilance and the Negotiator."

He reddened. "You looked at them that closely?"

"I was bored. Anyway, what else do you own? I'm curious."

Rex paused and tapped on his thigh. "Uh, my armor, my blasters, a few credits...and that's about it. Can't really think of much else."

"I don't really own much either, but I have more than that. They don't allow you anything to amuse yourselves?"

Rex chuckled under his breath. "What for?"

"Don't you ever get bored when you're setting up camp or not fighting?"

"Well, yeah, but we have our brothers for that. Someone always manages to have a deck of cards or makes up some game, and if we're on Coruscant, sometimes we all go out drinking."

This time, it was Ventress' turn to laugh. "The Republic wants their finest soldiers getting shitfaced and gambling?"

"Well, they don't _want_ us to, per se, but, we also have Jango Fett's DNA as a part of our core. They don't want us to relieve our boredom like he did."

Rex and Ventress met eyes.

"How ironic." she said.

"I guess it is ironic, me going out bounty hunting, but I didn't come into this situation by choice." Rex mumbled, snapping back into soldier mode.

Ventress didn't know how Anakin seemed to work with Rex so well on the battlefield; that man had his blast doors closed so tightly that he didn't seem to let anything in. Then again, she did the same thing.

They entered the atmosphere of their destination, and she landed the ship in a spot that she hoped would be discreet.

"We have to be quiet on this one. Hopefully you can manage it despite your normal 'guns blazing' routine." Ventress warned, gesturing out the door.

"Right. Just curious, what species is this daughter? Wouldn't want to grab the wrong person."

"Neimoidian." Ventress replied, and walked out. Rex followed next to her and adrenaline started kicking in.

"Are you always this close when you're with Skywalker?" Ventress hissed at him.

Rex shrugged. "I like being at the front."

The two continued walking, Rex's hands hovering closer to his blasters. He looked left and noticed that Ventress had one on her lightsaber.

He noticed that they were approaching a building and going for...the ventilation shaft. Rex sighed in annoyance, but Ventress didn't notice as sheused the Force to slide the grate off and wove her fingers together. Rex raised his eyebrow and pointed at her hands. She nodded.

"You're heavy and I can jump. Now step on my hand and I'll give you a lift."

Rex sighed, hoping that this incident stayed between him and Ventress, and hopped on. He wobbled a bit, but Ventress was strong and lifted him up to the opening. Once he scrambled in, he leaned out and gave a hand to her.

"Come on, this'll be easier and less flashy."

Ventress rolled her eyes and accepted Rex's hand. Once they were both in, Rex did his best to crawl somewhere where they could be on the ground again; his armor made a horrible racket against the metal plating. Clearly, Ventress hadn't taken that into account, so she approved of his decision.

That's when the first problem came about. A security droid lit up, and Ventress noticed. She tapped Rex, and he seemed to shoot as he turned. The droid barely stood a chance. Rex smirked and reholstered his gun.

"We should probably be more careful." he warned, and continued walking.

Ventress led, and this time, Rex didn't move; he was covering the back. She hoped that the map she'd gotten was okay; this place seemed old and poorly guarded.

The two got to their first locked door, and Rex nodded at Ventress, knowing that they were moving in the right direction. Carefully, Ventress got out a basic datapad and some wires and began to jimmy the lock. Rex was used to General Skywalker going in with his lightsaber, but he figured that this was a more discreet affair, so he didn't object to the wait. He took his eyes off of Ventress and watched the hallway by them to make sure no more pesky security droids were making their rounds.

After about a minute, the door opened with a hiss.

"If this were any easier, I'd say it was a trap." Ventress mumbled, shoving the datapad back into her bag.

"Be careful then." Rex replied sharply, remembering how many times his General had sprung traps, whether it was on accident or on purpose.

Thankfully, there wasn't an immediate consequence to their actions, and they found a small girl shivering in the corner.

"Get up." Ventress commanded.

The girl kept shivering and put her head down.

Rex looked down at the little girl and knelt. "We're here to help." he said, extending his hand. She tentatively took it and got up.

"We need to get going, if you're finished tucking her in." Ventress chastised Rex.

"She wasn't going to cooperate for you." Rex hissed. The two kept the girl in the middle of them, keeping her safe. They were almost out of the building when all hell broke loose.

They'd been bickering quietly when a security droid came up behind them. Ventress had droids blocked out droids as backgrounds in the Force, and Rex didn't have the ability. The droid started beeping, and this time, neither of the hunters reacted soon enough. The entire place lit up, loudly for its age. The girl started crying and Ventress grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"We need to get out of here." she said, seemingly calmer than she'd been.

Rex looked at her in surprise; she hadn't been like this five minutes ago. He wasn't one to complain, because now he could focus on the fight at hand. Old, reprogrammed, battle droids came out in a wave, and Rex rushed toward them and started to shoot. He looked for Ventress but he saw her back by the girl, blocking bullets with her lightsabers.

"Getting eager, Rex?" she asked as he backpedaled toward her, guns still akimbo.

"You know I like scrapping tinnies." he replied.

The two had made quick work of the droids, but then, the real challenge came about. A few other people, appearing to also be bounty hunters.

Rex squinted and then tensed up.

"I thought that General Skywalker had pushed that one off a cliff." Rex said, remembering that he'd given them a bit of trouble on a minor mission of theirs.

"And that one to his left has given me trouble a few times." Ventress replied, feeding off of Rex's energy. She raised her voice and looked at the man. "Hey! Are your skills so bad that you're stuck with babysitting jobs now?"

The bounty hunter looked at them up and down. "I'd say I'm less pathetic than you are. A washed-out Sith apprentice and a...Clone Commander? Oh boy, even the Republic's bred troops are deserting them in favor of bounties? That's it, Seps are winning the war, no questions as-"

He got cut off and yelled in shock as Rex shot very close to his head.

"I'm no deserter." Rex said, feeling less sure in his belief than when he was at the Lawquane farm.

"Oh, what was it then? Dishonorable discharge? Is that a thing for clones?" the bounty hunter taunted.

Rex gritted his teeth, but felt a hand briefly on his shoulder.

"He's toying with you, Rex. Just kill him and make quick work of it." Ventress said.

Rex's focus regained its edge and he calmed down enough to start aiming surely.

"Thanks." he said, barely softer than a whisper, but Ventress didn't hear him; she'd already decapitated him as he was thinking of how to tease Rex again.

Rex did Ventress a favor and started going after the other one, making sure to stay close to the girl. While Rex distracted goon number two, Ventress disposed of him in the same fashion as the first.

While Ventress gave Rex a small smile to celebrate their victory, the girl started crying.

"I forgot; not everyone's a fighter." Rex mumbled as he attempted to comfortingly pat her on the back.

Ventress sighed at him. "Do you clones never see children? There were plenty of them on Kamino."

Rex glared at her, and she must have sensed his anger through the helmet.

"Sorry about that." she said tightly.

Rex didn't forgive her, but he nodded, glad for the sincere apology.

Ventress, in the meantime, picked the girl up and began to hold her tightly. She started awkwardly shushing her, and the girl's sobs quieted.

"We need to get out of here." Rex reminded, leading the way out the door, and what he hoped was back to their ship.

Ventress knew she'd hit a hot button when she'd mentioned Kamino. Kriff, that probably wasn't a good idea. During the invasion, she didn't think anything of killing the clones, but now that she thought about it, she'd been killing children, children who were still too small for their blasters. _That was in the past_. But she had brought up Kamino, the closest thing to Rex's home. She remembered Dathomir, her sisters getting destroyed by waves of battle droids. As she got bombarded with memories, she knew for sure. Bad idea.

Rex stayed silent for the majority of the walk, and it wasn't comforting like the silence sometimes was. This was the silence that he despised. That's when the memories flooded in, the memories that he tried so hard to keep back.

He entered the ship, and put the girl in the place where Ventress had kept him, with the command to yell if she needed anything.

"I feel the dark side surrounding you." Ventress said, feeling like some old Jedi, even to herself.

"I wonder why." Rex snapped back.

"Rex, I meant it when I said I was sorry. If I could go back, I wouldn't have killed the kids."

He looked at her. "But you would have killed my brothers?"

"It was as much my job to kill you as it was yours to kill me." Ventress said tensely.

Rex bowed his head and slowly nodded. "I'll give you that."

"This war isn't black and white." she continued. "I've done some terrible things to win a battle, or even just to eat."

Rex merely nodded.

"It's worse to hold it in." Ventress said, and then went mum.

It took a while for Rex to open up, but a half hour after the two had been sitting quietly, his blast doors finally opened.

"I've been concerned about the things I've done too."

Ventress nodded, holding back her internal "finally."

"I never reported some deserters. I didn't kill Krell when I had the chance, and Dogma, a poor trooper whose only fault was his naivety, is probably dead. I didn't side with Commander Tano when I knew that she was innocent. I have done so much...and I keep learning there are some orders I can't follow." Rex said, bowing his head.

"I learned that you can't follow the path that's created for you. I don't care if it's the Jedi, the Sith, or even the Force. I follow my own damn path, and I suggest you do the same." Ventress said.

Rex nodded. "I don't have the option to follow my own path. I serve the Republic, no one else."

Ventress turned to Rex slowly. "The Republic thinks you're dead. You could learn the bounty hunting ropes from me, and once you have some money, you can go your own way. You're good."

That shocked him. "You think I could?"  
"You've got too strict a personal code. That'll disappear with time though. It does for most."

Rex considered it, hard. He liked General Skywalker, but lately, there'd been something off about him. He woke up screaming more often now, and he was colder, more distant. He'd been that way since Commander Tano left, but it was worse now. He didn't laugh as much anymore, and he was always on edge. He didn't have much of a reason to stay now, besides his friends.

"I can't do it now. Maybe later, but not now."

Ventress chuckled under her breath. "You've tasted freedom, Rex. You're going to want to come back. You'll be good competition if you do become a bounty hunter, or a good partner."

At that moment, the girl yelled, and Rex went back to let her out. After convincing Ventress that no, she was not going to run away, she got to sleep with the door open after she looked out the cockpit. Eventually, the pair got back to Neimoidia and the girl was reunited with her father.

Rex watched as Ventress counted out the money, impressed with the amount, considering the work they'd done wasn't particularly life-threatening.

"It's because she's his child." Ventress said, seeming to read his mind. Rex forgot that she was still trained in the ways of the Sith and that mind-reading came as naturally to her as General Skywalker.

After they left Neimoidia, Rex and Ventress took one last shift sleeping, ate one last time, and travelled to Toydaria (both Anakin and Ventress finally agreed on a planet from a neutral system).

As they breached the atmosphere, Rex turned to Ventress one last time.

"Thanks for keeping on your promise."

"You kept your end of the bargain."

When they landed, an angry-looking Anakin and Cody were standing by their ship.

"You've got Rex?" Anakin asked, hand on his saber.

"No need to get violent." Ventress said. "He earned his keep. Take him."

Anakin raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and let Rex walk over to their side. He gave Rex a look that said "tell me later," but Rex didn't think he could tell anyone.


End file.
